After his retirement, Vincent Oliver took to walking along the Seal Beach pier, where he would strike up conversations with fishermen as they cast their lines and studied the horizon. "I knew one man for months before I even knew his last name," recalled the 68-year-old Oliver. "It turned out that I had known his father, his grandmother, a couple of (his) uncles and that I'd visited the house he was raised in. "You never know who you're going to meet on the pier."

Federal authorities are investigating the deaths of two sea lions found on the beach Wednesday with apparent shotgun wounds. City lifeguards discovered the two wounded, adult sea lions north of the Seal Beach Pier on Wednesday morning, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service sent an agent to investigate, said agency spokesman Jim Milbury. They probably died about two weeks ago but just recently washed onto the beach, he said. Their bodies were being taken to the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro for a necropsy, which will determine cause of death, he said.

City officials hope by Tuesday to unveil a reconstruction plan for the Seal Beach Pier, which was damaged in a fire a week ago. The city must decide whether to make temporary repairs to the historic wood boardwalk and reopen it for the summer tourist season or keep it closed for several weeks while permanent fixes are completed.

In 1912, promoters trying to make Seal Beach a tourist attraction--and thereby sell some lots--dressed up the 6-year-old fishing pier into a fun zone called Jewel City. San Francisco's Panama Pacific Exposition had just closed, and some of its attractions--a roller coaster and 50 "scinillator lights" that created outdoor rainbow effects--were installed on and near the pier. The photo above, taken sometime during World War I, shows the Jewel City Cafe at the foot of the pier.

The city will close the pier for about a week this spring to repair damage caused by a fire last year, but officials hope to complete the work before the start of the busy summer tourist season. The City Council this week authorized the second phase of pier repairs, estimated to cost $100,000. Seal Beach will spend an additional $30,000 for additional improvements and to repair damage caused by the 1992 Landers earthquake.

The city's pier, which has been closed since a May 21 fire, could reopen by the end of the month, city officials said this week. Workers are now finishing up a first round of fixes to the wood boardwalk. Once those repairs are done, a temporary covering will be placed over the damaged portion of the pier and it will be reopened to the public through the busy summer tourist season, Mayor George Brown said.

Flames burst from the midsection of the city pier Saturday, stranding a small crowd of fishermen, strollers and diners until firefighters were able to douse the fire and hose down smoldering planks. There were no reported injuries and the fire, which erupted shortly after 3 p.m., was quelled within an hour, according to authorities. Investigators ruled out arson and said the fire appeared to be sparked by electrical wires, the same type of blaze that shut down the pier two years ago.

A small fire probably caused by a discarded cigarette trapped dozens of restaurant patrons Saturday night on the Seal Beach Pier as flames burned a 4-foot-by-4-foot hole through the floor of the wooden structure, authorities said. Customers at the Ruby's restaurant at the end of the pier waited for more than half an hour as a fireboat and firefighters on land brought the small blaze under control. Authorities were alerted to flames in the middle of the pier about 6:40 p.m.

City officials say the fire-damaged Seal Beach Pier probably will reopen by the Fourth of July holiday weekend. A first phase of repairs to the historic wood boardwalk is progressing smoothly and is in its final stages, said Mayor George Brown. The city plans to reopen the pier through the busy summer tourist season. Then in the fall, the boardwalk will be closed again for a second and final set of fixes.

Rain pelted Orange County for a second day Wednesday, causing a roof collapse at a Fullerton business, power outages and high bacteria levels from runoff at beaches. Late Wednesday, three people were pulled from the water near the Seal Beach Pier in an apparently storm-related incident, officials said. Two were taken to a hospital, one in full cardiac arrest, they said. Coastal and mountain areas were under a flash flood watch, and the California Highway Patrol reported 123 accidents from 5 a.m.

10am Festival Cultures from both sides of the Pacific meet at the Seal Beach Kite Festival, a two-day event sponsored by the Japan America Society. Bring kites and fly them for prizes or participate in kite-making lessons or watch demonstrations by world-famous performers. The second day features a number of Japanese cultural events, including kite battles and live taiko drummers. * Seal Beach Kite Festival, Seal Beach Pier, Main Street and Ocean Avenue. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-sundown.

Lifeguards Wednesday found a 19-year-old man believed to have drowned while bodyboarding near the Seal Beach Pier. Sgt. Donna Soto, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Department's Harbor Division, said that the man was reported missing about 8 p.m. Searchers found his body about 9:45 p.m. near the pier. He had not been identified late Wednesday. Conditions were calm with a slight breeze but no strong currents or riptides, Soto said. An autopsy is scheduled for today, officials said.

Gov. Gray Davis has vetoed funds to rebuild a sea wall that protects the Seal Beach Pier and surrounding shoreline from erosion, alarming city officials who fear the 42-year-old wall will crumble within a year. The wave-battered wall, just north of the pier, represents Seal Beach's first line of defense against erosion that has been slowly eating away the city's beaches for decades.

Gov. Gray Davis has vetoed funds to rebuild a sea wall that protects the Seal Beach Pier and surrounding shoreline from erosion, alarming city officials who fear that the 42-year-old structure will crumble within a year. The wave-battered wall, just north of the pier, represents Seal Beach's first line of defense against erosion that has been slowly eating away the city's beaches for decades.

The Seal Beach City Council postponed a decision Monday night on a proposed restaurant operation for the Seal Beach Pier because council members want to make further changes in the proposed lease and because a key councilman was absent.

Dog owners and their pets can participate in a walkathon benefiting the Animal Care Center beginning at the Seal Beach pier at 9 a.m. Nov. 11. The annual Bayer's to Barker's Dog Walkathon features dog contests, pet "goody bags" and T-shirts. Registration is available at the center's Web site: http://www.sbacc.org. Information: (562) 430-4993.